This invention relates to a sailboat in which the mast is foldable down into a stowed position and is particularly directed to one having a lateen rig.
In the past, there have been several attempts at having arrangements which provide a mast that will fold. This is due in part to the popularity of small sailboats which are of a size that can be readily triable.
In the prior art there are some examples of collapsible masts. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,948, a mast which is demountable utilizes for convenience, braces which have a slider that engage the luff track of the mast. Other examples of collapsible masts are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,112,861 which shows a mast that is adapted to not only pivot at the deck level but also pivot upon itself part way up the vertical extent thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,154 is a still further example of a folding mast structure and typifies more or less one of the more conventional ways of pivoting masts in tabernacles.
As noted in these prior art patents, for the most part, they all require the utilization of a fore stay together with a block and tackle for the raising and lowering process.